Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

What Ju Meng faced was a turtle formation.

On the side facing the narrow river, the trench was expanded to two meters wide. The earth and rocks excavated from the trenches were used to build a 1.8-meter-high defensive wall.

The other two sides are wide rivers. There are no trenches or earthen walls, but bamboos are sharpened and inserted into the ground, and are sprinkled with caltrops. After the sharp bamboo and caltrops, there are two rows of wooden fences.

There was originally a cage fort on the mountain behind the village, stationed with 300 rural soldiers and 500 barbarian soldiers. It could not only prevent Ju Meng from encircling the rear, but also coordinate with the villages at the foot of the mountain.

The day after Ju Meng arrived on the other side of the river, he tried to cross the river to attack.

It was possible to cross the river easily from one side of the narrow river, but the wide trench and the earthen wall as high as a person seemed to be a natural hazard for the barbarians.

It is even more difficult to cross the wide river, as a large number of flat cannons throw shotgun shells. Some of the stones were as big as fists, and some were as big as heads. They hit the river like hailstones. Even if you are lucky enough to cross the river, you still have to avoid sharp bamboos and caltrops and rush forward, followed by two wooden fences.

The best result was when a group of barbarians braved arrows and knocked down the first wooden fence. When they rushed to the second wooden fence, they were stabbed to pieces by the pikemen who were waiting for work.

He sent elite troops to try to occupy the back mountain, but the defenders were holed up in the mountain and unable to get out. This group of elite soldiers could only run back, because if they didn't run away, they would be attacked from both sides by the defenders on the mountain and down the mountain.

For ten consecutive days, the Han soldiers just stood firm in the village and had no intention of confronting the enemy head-on.

Ju Meng was in a dilemma and had no choice but to lose his temper at his younger brother: "Why did you lose such a dangerous place that is easy to defend but difficult to attack in one afternoon?"

Bu Su defended himself by saying: "Too many people defected before the battle. I could have held on."

Ju Meng said angrily: "The Han people know how to dig wide and deep trenches, why don't you dig the trench wider?"

Bu Su said: "There are not so many hoes."

Ju Meng: "..."

The barbarians all bought their hoes from Lizhou, and they mainly relied on smuggling, because the government did not allow the export of pig iron tools.

Qiongbu Sichuan Man's own blacksmiths didn't have enough to make weapons, so how could they make hoes?

Their farming skills are already excellent, and they have learned to cultivate land in recent years. Those mountain tribes are even worse. They are still practicing slash-and-burn farming. One tribe occupies several mountains and alternately burns wasteland to grow food.

Why can’t Ju Ming and Yu Wenchang hold on?

Because I'm waiting for Qiao Huan to work!

…

On the twelfth day of the confrontation between Ju Meng and the Han soldiers, barbarians came from the south and west to report.

When the Henan Man, Azong Man, and the indigenous Bai Man learned that the Qiongbu Sichuan Man had been defeated and that the main force was drawn out to fight the Han soldiers, these tribes launched a surprise attack on the Qiongbu Sichuan Man's village.

The territory of the Qiongbu Sichuan barbarians was raging with war. They had made enemies everywhere in the past few decades, and now they finally suffered the consequences of being attacked by a group.

South of the Dadu River and west of the Luoluo River, there are a large number of Henan barbarians scattered in the mountains.

These Henan barbarians originally lived on the south bank of the Dadu River and were familiar barbarians who could speak Chinese. They were first attacked by the Lianglin barbarians, and then by the Qiongbu Sichuan barbarians. Some of them fled to the Han lands on the north bank of the Dadu River, and some fled into the mountains and forests to open up wasteland for farming.

The life of the barbarians in Henan is extremely difficult, but their degree of Chineseization is also very high. They have been farming in the valleys for more than ten years and have gradually regained some strength.

Now, Henan Man has seized the opportunity to come out.

These familiar people were not persuaded by Qiao Huan, because the direction was wrong.

Before Yu Wenchang sent troops, he had already sent people to lobby the Henan barbarians. But they did not dare to act rashly and watched with cold eyes. They did not send troops until they heard that the Han army had won a great victory.

Qiao Huan contacted the Lianglin Man, A Zong Man and the indigenous Bai Man. The three major barbarians swarmed north to the Qiongbu Sichuan Man and more than ten edge villages had been breached.

After receiving continuous news that the villages in the rear had fallen, and the Han soldiers on the other side of the river were unable to defend themselves, Ju Meng didn't know what to do.

"Abba, why don't you surrender? We can't fight this battle." The fourth son, Ah Fan, advised.

The fifth son Ju Qiao said: "If my father surrenders, he will not be able to become the Great Ghost Lord of all barbarians. I don't know how much land and population have been taken away by Han officials."

Ah Fan said: "Even if you can't become the Great Ghost Lord of Baimandu, you can at least become the Great Ghost Lord after surrendering. If you continue to fight like this, you won't even be able to save your life!"

"Aren't you going to avenge your eldest brother?" Ju Qiao asked.

Ah Fan asked: "How to take revenge?"

The two sons quarreled endlessly, and Ju Meng became even more irritated.

He already wanted to surrender, but he was afraid that even if he surrendered, he would be killed by Han officials.

Ju Meng said to his fourth son, Ah Fan, "Do you dare to go to the Han soldiers to deliver the message? I wouldn't worry if it were someone else."

Ah Fan replied: "Why don't you dare?"

Ju Meng said: "You told the Han officials that I am willing to surrender and will send people to pay tribute to the Emperor of the Song Dynasty to plead guilty. I may not be the Great Ghost Lord of Baimandu, but at least let me be the Great Ghost Lord. Pugu Long As well as the thirty surrounding villages, let me rule it, and I don’t need the rest of the land."

"Yes!" Ah Fan took the order and left.

In the afternoon of that day, Ah Fan took only one person with him and bravely crossed the river by boat.

Yu Wenchang and Ju Ming were notified and ordered not to shoot arrows.

When Ah Fan saw him, he knelt down and kowtowed: "My father has realized his mistake, please forgive me."

Yu Wenchang asked: "How come he doesn't dare to come and apologize?"

Ah Fan explained: "Abba knew that he had committed a serious crime and was afraid that the prefect would blame him, so he sent me here first."

Yu Wenchang said: "If you want to surrender, immediately order the barbarians to put down their weapons, and Ju Meng will come to my camp in person to ask for forgiveness."

Ah Fan said: "My father only wants Pugu Lung and the thirty surrounding villages. Please let the governor let us go and don't order a pursuit. When my father leads his troops back to Pugu Lung, he will evacuate the warriors from the remaining villages. The governor can send troops Go and capture those villages. Abba will also send people to pay tribute to the emperor and ask for his forgiveness."

Yu Wenchang thought about it carefully: "You go back, I still need to discuss this matter."

Ah Fan knelt down and retreated, showing great humility.

After the man left, Yuwen Chang asked: "What do you think of success?"

Ju Ming smiled and said: "Can a cooked duck still fly?"

Yu Wenchang said: "The Qionbu Sichuan barbarians have suffered heavy losses, and we cannot let them collapse, otherwise the two forest barbarians will definitely take the opportunity to rise. When one Qionbu Sichuan barbarian falls, but another two forest barbarians rise, this means that our war is in vain. "

Ju Ming said: "Of course we should let Qiongbu retain a certain strength, but Ju Meng must die! He is notorious among the barbarians and has a high prestige among the Qiongbu Sichuan barbarians. If he is allowed to live, let him continue to occupy In Pugulong and the surrounding fertile land, I’m afraid this person will make a comeback within ten years!”

Yuwen Chang was silent and thinking.

Ju Ming continued: "Moreover, Ju Meng may have faked his surrender. He led his troops back in the name of surrender and tried his best to meet the barbarians who were attacking the rear. He also left a bunch of villages for us to take over and disperse our troops. We can't tell when They will suddenly kill you!"

Yu Wenchang nodded and said: "The concerns about success are reasonable."

Ju Ming said: "If you continue to hold on and stall for time, sooner or later Ju Meng will be unable to help but withdraw. You can send hundreds of elite troops from the back mountain, take a detour to the south, and ambush in the river valley. As soon as Ju Meng retreats, the main force of our army will Follow slowly, and when you get to the place, you can attack from both sides."

"This plan is feasible." Yu Wen often followed the good advice.

After waiting for another two days, Ju Meng could not get a reply from the Han people, so he finally made up his mind to withdraw his troops.

It is false to withdraw the troops, but it is true to lure the Han soldiers to cross the river.

This guy still wants to fight. Since he can't break the Han army's village, he will pull the Han soldiers out to fight. Dangtang is having a decisive battle in the wild.

Ju Meng first sent two groups of elite troops to retreat and lie in ambush at the place they must pass through on their way south.

If the Han soldiers came to pursue them, they would all ambush them, and he himself would turn around with the main force to cover them up.

If the Han soldiers don't come after them, then they will really withdraw their troops and go back to fight the rebellious barbarians.

Because the morale of the entire army was low, Ju Meng also organized a ghost sacrifice activity.

During the retreat, Ju Meng personally led his troops to the rear to prevent the Han soldiers from attacking, and the false retreat turned into a real rout.

Ju Ming stood on the top floor of the Cage Fort, observed carefully with a telescope, and found that the barbarian soldiers retreated appropriately. He said with emotion: "This thief chief is a real general. No wonder he can run rampant in all barbarian lands."

Yu Wenchang borrowed a telescope and looked at it for a while: "Are you still chasing me?"

"We must pursue him, just stay far away!" Zhu Ming said, "We have to withdraw a hundred and fifty miles before we go to Pugulong. I don't believe that he has not missed any loopholes."

After the main force of the barbarians had withdrawn several miles away, Ju Ming ordered the entire army to cross the river, leaving only a few barbarian soldiers to defend Luo Luo Lung.

Both sides retreated and pursued, always maintaining a distance of six or seven miles.

Ju Ming sent mountain search teams to check the mountains and valleys passing by in front of them, in case Ju Meng set up an ambush.

Ju Meng had no choice but to withdraw the ambush troops.

At the same time, like Ju Ming, he sent elites as vanguards to search the mountains, forcing Zhang Bor's ambush troops to cross the river and return to the east bank.

With such caution, the ambush on both sides was ineffective.

However, during the withdrawal, they were followed by the enemy, which put Ju Meng's soldiers under great psychological pressure.

They rushed to fight in excitement, but hundreds of their cavalry were killed on the way. The attack for many days was ineffective. The villages in the rear were also attacked by barbarians. The morale of the army had already plummeted.

Sensing something was wrong in the atmosphere, Ju Meng did not dare to withdraw.

He chose a relatively dangerous riverside village, summoned the ghost masters of all sizes to lecture, and pretended to be confident: "I am not withdrawing my troops this time, but luring the Han people over. Previously, the Han people held firm, and it was difficult for us to attack. Now the Han people have not The village can be defended, and we will go to the decisive battle tomorrow. I am the great ghost master of Baimandu. The ghosts and gods will protect me, and the Han people will definitely be defeated!"

The ghost masters, big and small, suddenly understood and admired Ju Meng's wisdom.

But there are also some ghost owners who have other ideas in their hearts. They were worried that their villages would not be safe, and barbarians would take advantage of them to rob them in the south. If they did not deal with the Han people early, they would suffer heavy losses even if they won the battle.

The benefit is Ju Meng's, and the loss is theirs.

Knowing that Ju Meng chose a dangerous place to camp, Ju Ming also stopped marching and camped five miles away from the enemy.

Both sides continued to waste time, but Ju Ming was not in a hurry anyway.

The longer the delay here, the more villages the barbarians can capture, and the delay will also make Ju Meng's army unstable.

Sun Shu quietly met with several Han bandits and said: "Ju Meng will definitely be defeated. We will set fire to the village tonight and run away if we cause trouble. After the fire breaks out, if the officers and soldiers take the opportunity to kill, we will cooperate with the officers and soldiers in the battle. If the officers and soldiers do not come, , let’s go and join the army, and setting the fire will be considered a meritorious service.”